the republican leader, mitch mcconnell, really put the blame on democrats, but he did seem to indicate that there may be further negotiations that are ongoing here, possibly even as we speak. take a listen to mitch mcconnell earlier this afternoon. >> the truth is, we're coming up against a hard deadline here and as i said, this is a conversation we should have had months ago. and republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything senate democrats put forward, just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> so mcconnell there very much sounding in his remarks today like a man who was expecting a new offer, something from the president of the united states. what we know about the president is that he cut short his hawaii vacation, arriving in d.c. earlier today. and we're not aware of new developments from the president, but mcconnell seemed to telegraph that the president called him yesterday and now expecting that the president would make him some sort of offer at some point in the future. we haven't seen that yet. so, this story continues, melissa. >> so, it sou